Special Reports Archive

As more and more new devices come online, agency networks are put under increasing pressure. Overhauling the network brings with it the opportunity to better protect and secure all the disparate network components. Here are some of the changes network administrators will make in 2012 and beyond.

Client computing has evolved to ‘virtual client’ computing, enabling mobile access to an organization’s network resources for continuity of operations, telework, and greater overall mobility and productivity, and it is taking hold in both public- and private-sector organizations

Wide-area network optimization boosts traffic across geographic distances. Although the primary tools have been around for a decade, agencies are increasingly turning to WAN optimization to speed the delivery of applications from a centralized data center to branch offices or for backing up data to an off-site facility.

SEWP IV is an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) GWAC offering a wide variety of advanced IT products and product-related services, including hardware and software, maintenance, warranty, installation, and product training, at fixed prices. All federal agencies can use the SEWP IV contract, which consists of 38 competed prime contract holders and includes 17 small businesses. Together, these contractors offer more than two million products from more than 3,800 manufacturers.

Federal agencies are increasingly turning to the General Services Administration’s (GSA’s) IT Schedule 70 Programs to address their technology requirements and comply with government mandates in areas such as cloud computing, data center consolidation, mobile computing, sustainability, and cybersecurity.

The General Services Administration’s Alliant governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC), though known for facilitating large, complex information technology (IT) projects, is fast becoming a popular vehicle for also helping agencies meet their cloud computing and other emerging technology needs.

Government executives expressed widespread concern about data leakage, whether caused by malicious actions or accidental missteps, according to an online survey of 209 executives, conducted by 1105 Government Information Group Content Solutions. In total, the survey conducted online in February, garnered 209 responses from public sector executives from organizations ranging from the Department of Defense to civilian federal agencies, to executives from state and local governments. Roughly a fifth of government agencies responding to the survey reported that external IT security incidents have increased in the past year.

In an election year, no one really knows how threatened budget cuts will affect the demand for rugged IT. But government leaders say there’s a new emphasis on special ops forces operating around the world, which bodes nothing but good for the rugged, tactical systems they use.

As the benefits of cloud computing become clearer -- and deadlines for various mandates come closer -- government agencies are increasingly turning to the cloud, to the point that nearly four out of 10 respondents have adopted some form of cloud computing or are in the process of adopting it, according to a recent survey of almost 300 respondents.

The issues involved with cybersecurity have changed dramatically from those of just a few years. Cyberwar, advanced persistent threats and Stuxnet-like attacks are just some of new elements that have become a part of the attack lexicon. See, through the eyes of two tested industry veterans, what the nature of today’s cybersecurity realities are and what government should be doing about them.

In general, federal agencies and departments opt for private clouds when sensitive or mission-critical information is involved. Private clouds are hosted on an agency's own dedicated hardware, and services and infrastructure are maintained on a private network. This increases security, reliability, performance and service. Yet like other types of clouds, it's easy to scale quickly and pay for only what is used, making it an economical model.

Connections II offers telecommunications infrastructure solutions that include – but are no limited to – four general solutions sets. This new approach is significantly different from the first Connections contract, reducing the confusion for agencies and contract holders.

Agency data centers are the biggest cost in government IT but given the explosive growth in data that needs to be managed and the ever-increasing demands for IT services, they are also the most important assets. Getting more out of their data centers in the most cost-effective way is a priority for agencies. An industry veteran explains what they need to do for that, and what potential roadblocks they should look out for.

Electronic health records are seen as the key technology for the adoption of health IT, but despite attractive incentives, the uptake of EHRs has been slow. Commitment to their use finally seems to be solidifying, however, giving confidence to government plans that call for transforming health care in the United States during the next few years.

An experienced industry hand takes a look at how well government agencies are prepared to meet new mandates for increasing the amount of teleworking the government employees are expected to do, why many of them fall short of such things as connectivity and security requirements, and what they can do about it.

Disseminating information among agencies — which might be hundreds of miles away from each other and have completely different policies in place — can be tricky. A universal identification and access technology would help. Here’s where those efforts stand.

Federal agencies are under a mandate to cut energy use at their various facilities. Taking 2005 as the base year, each agency is required to reduce energy requirements by at least 30 percent by 2015. That puts IT squarely in the crosshairs because the energy used to power government IT equipment is one of the biggest energy costs for agencies.

Moving to the cloud is no longer an option for government agencies. This in-depth Q&A provides unique insights into the government cloud migration by breaking down complexities and assisting agencies in the decision-making process.

The number and variety of incidents reported is growing, and a rash of high-profile breaches suggest that conventional defenses aren’t working well. The number of email-borne malware attacks has more than doubled in the last six months, indicating a more aggressive strategy by cyber criminals, along with a possible greater use of automation.

Times are tough for IT markets in the federal government and for rugged IT the experience has been no different. But it’s recently seen a marked improvement in demand, driven by changes both in the way government users employ IT and in the kinds of advantages rugged IT provides for that. One veteran of the government market details why that is so, and why agencies are increasingly realizing the broader advantages rugged IT offers.

When NASA officials created the SEWP IV government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC) four years ago, they were not necessarily thinking about cloud computing, but they included in the contract’s scope of work technologies that today are essential to the cloud, such as virtual computing and virtual storage.

CHESS contracts and license agreements leverage the Army’s enterprise purchasing power, provide state-of-the-art technology and protect the LandWarNet. And with sales of $3.7 billion in fiscal 2010, the CHESS program is well on its way to achieving its vision of being the Army’s center of excellence for commercial IT acquisition.

The General Services Administration’s IT Schedule 70 is the government’s go-to source for IT acquisitions and is broadly recognized for its benefits of cost savings, time savings, selection, and built-in value. IT Schedule 70 is organizationally positioned under GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) and Office of Integrated Technology Services (ITS).

During the past several years, the type and frequency of cyberattacks have changed dramatically. Today, organizations are subject to increasingly sophisticated intrusion tactics that are more destructive and malicious than before. Newer technologies such as cloud computing, social networking and the proliferation of mobile devices also have provided new opportunities for hackers to find and exploit vulnerabilities.

See, through the eyes of one industry veteran, what information security means in the current dynamic scenario of threats and constant attacks on government networks, and what agencies need to focus on to make sure their vital information and data are well protected.

Client computing has evolved to thin-client computing, which facilitates mobile access to an organization’s network resources for continuity of operations, telework and greater employee productivity, and it is taking hold in the public and private sectors.

Data leakage, data integrity, identity authentication and management are top concerns of agency leaders. Learn how to boost security spending despite budget pressures and how find out how a security ecosystem keeps attacks at bay and fits into the cloud-first movement.

Wikis, which are internal or external websites developed collaboratively, function as repositories of institutional information for companies and organizations. Users add to or edit wikis in a crowdsourced style, and anyone with permission can access them with a Web browser. Some might see wikis as yesterday’s news given the fact that they were first developed in 1994. However, as a collaboration tool, wikis can still provide significant benefits.

Intense budgetary constraints, the administration’s advocacy of data center consolidation, cloud computing, telework and a rush to adopt mobile computing throughout government are hastening the migration to unified communications solutions.

The issues involved with cybersecurity have changed dramatically from those of just a few years. Cyberwar, advanced persistent threats and Stuxnet-like attacks are just some of new elements that have become a part of the attack lexicon. See, through the eyes of three tested industry veterans, what the nature of today’s cybersecurity realities are and what government should be doing about them.

The twin pressures of reduced budgets and the need for greater efficiency have led the federal government to strongly promote cloud computing as a solution whenever possible. In fact, the Office of Management and Budget in December 2010 declared that government now operates under a cloud-first policy, meaning that agencies must first try to incorporate some type of cloud computing into projects.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) federal IT reform effort is the latest is a series of data center consolidation and cloud computing initiatives launched in the last year, including the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI), which was rolled into the new 25-point OMB plan.

The General Services Administration’s Alliant governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC) has generated more than $5 billion in sales during the last 12 months. Despite an initial slow start, the Alliant program for IT solutions and services has issued 132 task orders to 39 companies worth more than $6 billion through mid-March of 2011.

1105 Government Information Group Custom reports, buyers guides and contract vehicles are intended to enhance agencies' planning processes with relevant, strategic information on available and emerging technologies, services and solutions that meet agencies missions, goals and requirements. These reports include key trends and market drivers, as well as tips, insights and advice on best practices. Use the contract vehicles and buyers guides within this resource center as year long buying references during technology and solution evaluation and purchase. Look to the strategic reports for critical information that can empower government IT decision-makers to improve, consolidate, modernize, streamline and optimize daily operations.

For more information about 1105 Government Information Group Custom Media, please email us at GIGCustomMedia@1105govinfo.com